G.I. Joe has always been the ultimate boy’s toy. For decades kids have madly unwrapped their Christmas presents hoping to get a G.I. Joe or one of the many accessories. Having grown up in the era when the 12” Joes were still in style, I can recall getting the Fight For Survival accessory set one year from Santa. That was the dogsled set that came with three plastic husky dogs. I STILL have the three Huskys and we put them under our own tree every year. While Hasbro will still occasionally release commemorative editions of the 12” figures every few years, the basic line has given way to the smaller size Joes but the line continues to enjoy enormous popularity with new generations of kids…young and old alike.

But for the older, collector fan, when even the periodic release of 12” Joes by Hasbro just won’t do it, along comes Sideshow, the greatest maker of collectible toys and figurines on the planet, to take G.I. Joe to the next level. With the next big screen film, G.I. Joe: Retaliation set to hit theaters in June, Sideshow is treating Joe fans to several new figures in their 1/6th scale line (12”) of figures. These exclusive figures are all either available now, or will be rolling out over the next couple of months. Today were giving you a look at two of these awesome new figures: The Cobra Viper and General Hawk.

The figures come in boxes that are roughly the size of large shoeboxes that fold out. One side of the box has the figure itself while the other part of the box includes its horde of accessories. The inner flaps of the box include an inventory of all the items that comes in the package and a bio of the figure. The boxes feature the well-known red, white, and blue G.I. Joe logo with great graphics of the figure. The back of the box includes the G.I. Joe file card which became popularized in the 1980s 3 ¾” line of figures that you can cut out…of course, there’s NO WAY you are going to cut these boxes…right???

Let’s start with a look at General Hawk, the original field commander of the Joe Team. Hawk presents the kind of rugged, imposing figure you’d expect of a former Joe Team commander. Subtle lines around his eyes hit at the General’s age but he looks like he’s still ready to take on any mission. The clenched jaw and the slightly squinted eyes show a look of resolute determination. Hawk comes with two different heads…one comes with a traditional army cap that is molded on, and the other head is without the cap but can be fitted with his army helmet.

The figure has over 30 points of articulation and includes the following items:

Hawk is everything you’d expect a career, valorous military man to look like.

Vipers are the backbone of the COBRA infantry force. They are dangerous, highly-skilled, and well-equipped soldiers. As the bottom rung of COBRA forces they had extremely motivated to perform well in battle and climb the ladder of COBRA success. The Viper comes with two heads…one with his traditional helmet and visor, and the second without the visor, showing off a rather unpleasant looking guy with a scowl that looks like he’s ready to rip your face off and he probably is…He also has 30+ points of articulation. The Viper’s loadout includes:

The detail and the sheer number of accessories that these figures come with is simply incredible. But you know you really have a quality item just by picking these figures up. There’s a heft to them that exemplifies the quality materials that is used in their production. Other figures to be feature include Rock ‘n’ Roll, The Crimson Guard, Dusty, and Black Dragon Ninja. You can never go wrong with Sideshow.